Malacca Umno insincere on political ceasefire, says DAP

 

Malacca Umno has sought support from the DAP to stabilise the state regime on the night before the Umno-led state government collapsed on Oct 4.

State Umno chief Ab Rauf Yusoh revealed in an interview last night that a meeting was held and “a few solutions” were offered to the DAP, but nothing materialised.

This was later confirmed by a source from the Malacca DAP, who has been closely following the events that have unfolded.

When contacted, the source told Malaysiakini that the meeting between Umno and the DAP was just an internal talk between the parties' leaders.

“We actually have been having discussions with them for quite some time, but we never agreed, promised or rejected anything. We always kept our options open.

“The fact is, they only come to us when there is instability. Rauf did offer a CSA (confidence and supply agreement) to us, but nothing specific was discussed.

"He had treated us like nothing after the state government became stable again,” the source said, referring to a previous meeting that happened in August when former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin was forced to step down.

Malacca Umno chief Ab Rauf Yusoh.

Sinar Harian reported Rauf admitting that he had met DAP leaders last Sunday night (Oct 3) in order to prevent the Malacca government from collapsing.

He was disappointed that the DAP leaders did not accept the solutions that he offered, including to be a strategic partner of the state government, which was announced by the outgoing chief minister Sulaiman Md Ali on Sept 21.

Rauf, who is also the state assembly speaker, said the meeting was arranged by an Umno leader and he was representing the Malacca BN, not the state government.

Duyong rep criticises Malacca Umno's insincerity 

Malacca DAP secretary Damian Yeo Shen Li neither confirmed nor denied the aforementioned meeting when contacted by Malaysiakini.

However, the Duyong assemblyperson criticised the insincerity of Malacca Umno when it comes to political ceasefire.

"They only want to talk to us when Umno is going down. When Umno is strong, they chuck us out,” he lamented.

Yeo further questioned the anti-Pakatan Harapan sentiment in Umno.

“Previously, you said no Anwar (Ibrahim), no DAP. Then what does this so-called meeting means? Do you want to say yes to the DAP?” asked the state leader.

Yeo admitted that “quite a number of discussions” had happened between Malacca Umno and the DAP previously and it was sanctioned by Harapan central leadership for the sake of political stability.

"We also need to know what they (Umno) want from us,” he explained.

Yeo added that the DAP previously had proposed some reform policies to the state government, including annual emoluments for service centres, the use of state government facilities, becoming part of the state Covid-19 Management and Rehabilitation Council as well as the Economic Development Council, among others.

“If you want our support, it won’t be a blind one. We must have some bargaining chips,” he said.

However, Yeo claimed that the state government did not show any political will or sincerity to implement the proposed reforms.

Idris and Nor Azman's exposés lauded

Meanwhile, Yeo lauded the action by Sungai Udang assemblyperson Idris Haron and Pantai Kundor assemblyperson Nor Azman Hassan exposing the wrongdoings of the state government at a press conference yesterday.

Pantai Kundor assemblyperson Nor Azman Hassan

“Whether Nor Azman cried crocodile tears or not, that is another question. But when you come out and throw out everything in public, I think you have to give them a bit of respect,” he said.

Therefore, Yeo suggested that Harapan offer a “shelter” by welcoming them to the coalition.

“When you come out and expose all (the wrongdoings) in public, you are allowing yourself to be sued for defamation.

“But I am sure they have evidence for saying all those things. That is why I believe we need to give them the necessary shelter,” he stressed.

Yesterday, Nor Azman broke into tears and apologised to the people of Malacca for his part in the dissolution of the state assembly.

He also claimed that there was impropriety in the Malacca Waterfront Economic Zone (M-Wez) and vowed to expose everything to the MACC if he returned to power again.

The anti-graft body is investigating allegations by Idris that some Umno leaders in the state were engaged in fraud and had misled Putrajaya on the state's affairs.

Idris previously had also expressed willingness to follow the leadership of Harapan. - Mkini